Textile Tokens

08.21.12

You Don’t Have to Shout to Be Heard

The Daily Pic: Anne Ryan expresses the quieter emotions.

This is an untitled collage by Anne Ryan from around 1950, now in a show called “Signs & Symbols” that has been assembled from the Abstract Expressionist holdings of the Whitney Museum of American Art. The exhibition involves a lot of angst, brooding and spirit possession, so Ryan’s piece comes as a relief, revealing that quieter emotions and states are just as worthy of expression – that a swatch book can be as potent as any volume of incantations. (Note that Ryan's first name was incorrect in an earlier version of this posting)